Mira

I tried to refrain my eyes from her body out of decency, pulling the bedsheets up over my chest in shame. Me and her...naked in bed?? We obviously got a little too drunk last night, I can tell by both the headache and the messy bedsheets. Lily is not going to be happy about this, just as I am. What if she doesn't even remember we kissed? She was already incredibly intoxicated by then...and that's the last thing I remember of last night.

And that's when Lily rolls over and opens her eyes. There's a look of recognition as she sits up, forgetting to cover her chest as I look away. We both like each other, obvious from how we kissed last night- but sleeping together? Like actually doing...you know...in bed?

Lily looks over at me, eyes wide, "Are you also-"

"Yeah,"

"Did we-"

"I think so,"

This is when she realizes that her breasts have been hanging out the whole time and covers herself, so I'm able to look at her face. I can see her blush against her cheeks, making them turn a rosy shade of red. She looks at her shoulder in horror, seeing the hickeys I left on her skin just as I find the same sort of marks on my own neck and shoulder. So apparently we both love giving and receiving hickey's...interesting.

Lily flops down on the bed and groans loudly, "Fuck, my head is killing me, and I don't even remember what the fuck happened last night...I only remember asking you to get drunk with me, and that's it,"

"I remember we kissed," I offer, making her shoot me a nasty glare.

"Great, so I kissed a hot girl and made love to her but I can't remember a single damn thing!" She snarls and curls up, facing away from me.

I giggle, "So you think I'm hot?"

"That's not the point!"

I try to put a hand on her shoulder, to show her I'm here for her...but she just shrugs it off. Sighing loudly, I get out of bed and begin to search the floor for my missing clothing. Lily had her eyes closed, but when opening them up for just a second, she saw me naked and I swear her face made her look like she was about to die of embarrassment.

I spot my dress laying near the doorway on the floor and pick it up, slowly slipping it on. Neither my undergarments are with it, unfortunately. I continue my search.

"How are you not pissed right now?"

"Because even if I could remember it, I know we had a good time last night..."

She groans, "But that's the problem, I rather remember that! My first kiss and first time doing that were just stolen from my memory!"

I smirk and pick up my undergarments near the foot of the bed, "We could always redo it so you have a good first memor-"

Her head shoots up and she looks at me with a fury in her eyes, "No! Those moments are supposed to be sacred and special...you can't just redo them..."

I take a deep breath and sit down on the edge of the bed, looking at her, "My first kiss was stolen from me without my consent, but I never called it my real first kiss because it was unconsentual...I have a feeling drunk you knew exactly what she was doing and drunk me wanted in..."

"I get it...I want both of those things to be special, meaningful, with someone I love...not just a one night stand,"

"This isn't a one night stand,"

She growls and turns to look at me, "Then what is it?"

I fiddle around with my fingers, "We can pretend this didn't happen if you'd like...I just felt like there was something special between us, you know?"

She sits up and rubs her temples, "I do know...I don't think I would have made advances on you if I didn't want to...I guess drunk me was just a little bolder..."

I try to hide my grin, "So....you did want to have sex with me before then?"

She takes the pillow from behind her head and smacks me. I was just trying to ask a honest question, because that kind of possibility didn't even live in my head. Yesterday, before I was drunk, all I wanted was a kiss or two...maybe a relationship, a chance too know her and help her find out who she is together- but drunk me I guess did have sex in mind.

"No dumbass, I wasn't even thinking about sex, I was thinking of your beauty and how much I wanted to kiss you...nothing sexual at all...I guess my mind just had that put on the back-burner,"

I fall back onto the bed, "I wonder what it was like-"

"How are you so chill about this??" She whines, "Seriously...what the heck??"

I roll over to face her and sit up, but she refuses to look me in the eyes. I wait for a minute, trying to decide whether or not to put on my undergarments now while she's not looking or not.

"How about this, we don't pretend this didn't happen, but I give you a real first kiss?" I ask, "I mean, I'm not good at kissing ether, but we're both novices,"

She shoots me a look, but I'm unable to decern if it's good or not.

"Maybe,"

"Maybe...what? That you can have a real first kiss?"

She buries her head in the pillow, "Just find my clothing...please..."

"Ah, I get it, a part of you is embarrassed about your body," I coo, trying to scoot closer, "I really like it, just by the way, from what I've seen which is just you clothed,"

"Yeah, I'm sure you didn't peak when you woke up,"

I recoil, "I would never! I'm not a creep, I respect you and your body and would never look at it without permission...do you not trust me...?"

"I don't know what to think now, ever since I woke up I didn't know what to think about us...about your intentions with me...I just don't want to be taken advantage of..."

I stand up, "I've been hurt too many times, been taken advantage of in a million different ways...I would never do that to you,"

She thought I would do such a thing to her...even after I covered my eyes to be polite. I could've looked directly at her chest and rolled over them, but I didn't because I don't have the consent to do that. I have prided myself on being the most polite, the kindest soul in the world, always trying my best to not make the mistakes that I've seen. To anyone.

I slip on my undergarments quickly and storm out of the room, never having felt so disrespected in my life.

I was being kind and forgiving to her...reassuring her...trying to make the best out of a bad situation for her! And yet she accuses me of the one thing I would never do, drunk or not. I would never intentionally take advantage of someone, I would never want to do anything without consent. Being drunk can make you feel like the oxygen your breathing is a little lighter, but it wouldn't change my morals. I know where I stand.

Does she think I peeked at her...or does she assume the literal worst-case scenario? Does she think I did something too heinous and cruel to her? After all, we've been through! After all, I've done for her, after all the care I poured into trying to at least become friends with her!

Just for her to throw it all away...

I storm downstairs to feast my feelings away but it seems to be either night or the early hours of the morning. There are only a few customers milling about the tavern, drunk off there asses, chatting and laughing, while the news plays monotone stories in the background. I head up to the bar and ask for water, catching a look at myself in the glass cup. I look terrible...the huge bags under my eyes, not to mention my eyes being red and dry...my whole body aches and my precious hair is all frizzy and lopsided.

Maybe when Lily leaves the room I can take a shower, or I could ask Josie to use an unattended room shower for the time being.

Josie, looking almost as tired as I am, greets me with a smile, "Well you do not look happy, first hangover?"

I nod.

She smirks and gets me a glass of water, and some bread from a cupboard in the back. She must have been able to tell my hunger, for I devour the entire loaf as I've never eaten a day in my life. I try to take slow slips of my water after that, knowing my stomach will probably hate me ether way.

Josie hums an unfamiliar tune as she polishes a glass- before glancing at one of the televisions and dropping it.

I quickly turn my head around to see the very thing I'd been avoiding. The persistent little fear, that worry in the back of my head, it was all real. All of those horrible nightmares I've had over the many years of my existence have culminated into one sentence of complete and utter destruction.

Melodia: The lost city of evil fairies vanquished the headline read. I froze.

"Recent reports from one of her majesty's assistants, who wants to be called Unknown, has said that she has enslaved over one thousand fairies in the past week, but she finally got the biggest break in her career when a fairy showed her a map to her hometown."

I'm that fairy...even though I'm no fairy, I'm a stupid magician that can't think about the consequences of her actions.

"We are going live to the scene, talking to the vanquisher who has saved us all. Unknown, how are you today?"

I see her face...the face of the woman I had thought was just a hopeless magician wanting a better life...the one with the fancy purple clothing and long black hair...the one who I thought I was helping...

"I'm doing great because our kingdom no longer needs to fear the evil that had been poisoning us. All of their children have been taken to be brainwashed into normalization, and the adults were able to decide to join my army or die,"

The reporter is seen again, smiling, "How noble of you for letting those fairies live!"

The screen quickly switches back to the evilest grin I've ever seen, sewn only with the devil's mark, I'm sure.

"You shall not need to fear them, for they will all be worked hard and separated from any of us humans," She explains, "But I have a message for the one who gave me this map-"

My stomach drops, as does my jaw as I see the screen turn towards my sister being held by two large armed guards. She's screaming and hissing at them, but their grip is steadfast upon her undeveloped arms. The two guards are expressionless- those evil monsters- as my sister thrashes between them.

I can clearly make out what she's screaming at the camera.

"Mira! Mira! It's a trap, don't come to get me, please! They want to use you to get too-!"

Unknown steps into the camera's frame, but I'm still able to hear my sister's desperate cries in the background. She's pleading not for me to rescue her, but to stay away for my own safety. But I know those rocky cliffs better than I know myself, that's the exterior of my hometown! My sister sure knows I'm going to come to get her, even if it means risking my own life. Her cries fall on deaf ears as I chug down the rest of my drink.

The world around me seems to be nonexistent, all just a blur as I dash to wake my horse. Thankfully, she is already awake and eating breakfast when I throw the saddle on her back and attach it quickly, leaving little time for any error. She's bonded to me, she can feel my urgency and stands up tall and strong, ready for me to get on. I practically jump onto my horse's back and pull at the reigns while I do so, speeding off into the dark night.

My horse, like I've mentioned, has been spelled and charmed. One of these charms made it so she has night vision, so even if I can't see a single thing outside, she can. I cling tightly to her neck, urging and pleading with Andromeda to go faster. She follows my commands as she races through the town, jumping over fences and running around children to do so.

I caused all this...I caused my hometown to get pillaged, the people left for dead or forced into servitude! I caused people to die...for I'm sure some of the adults in my town were too headstrong to back down against fighting her. I lead death to there doorsteps...

And for that, I'll never forgive myself.

Lily

Someone woke me with a loud banging on the door. I tried to ignore it, assuming it was a drunkard with the wrong room number.

"Lily! Lily! This is serious, wake up! You need to help her-"

I pull myself out of bed reluctantly, my head swimming from merely standing on solid ground.  Whoever this is, they better have a good ass reason to wake me from my slumber. I'm able to pull my clothes on before getting to the door and unlocking it. The second I do so, the door swings open, for me to see the bartender Josie in a panic on the doorstep.

"Thank the gods, you have to go save her! She left, her town is destroyed, I tried to stop her-"

"What? Who is she and why do you want me to help?"

"That girl you were with, Mira! Her town was on the news, and everyone inside of it was ether kidnapped or killed! And then they found her sister, who told her to not come save her, but Mira took off anyway!"

"She what?! That's so dumb! She can't just go and get her sister back, she'll get killed!"

"Exactly, which is why I need your help, here's the keys to my truck, the steering is pretty easy and for the most part drives itself, the back is stocked with food and blankets for emergencies-"

I shake my head, "I don't know how to drive,"

Josie points an accusatory finger at me, "Listen here you little shit, I work with the Coast Verda Magician Recovery squad, and I need your help to save your dumbass friend and then get intel on what it's like so my crew can rescue them,"

She's going to die out there! Knowing her, she doesn't have a plan, she is going to run in blind and try to save her sister. Is agreeing to help this squad with intel really the best way to help her? It seems to be the best option, all the signs pointing to a large yes sign in neon lights. I just don't know if I was able to intercept her on her route and help her save her sister...if we'd even be alive at that point. It sounds like there's a whole army out there...waiting for her to run right into there hands.

I hold out my hand, palm facing up, "Alright, I'll do it,"